Japan FTC delays Intel report

The Japan Fair Trade Commission will seek to extend its Friday deadline to turn over documents it gathered in Intel's antitrust case, according to a Japan FTC source. The Japan FTC, which last year issued recommendations that called for Intel to halt the practice of requiring PC makers to limit the use of competitors' chips in exchange for monetary rebates, will notify the Tokyo District Court it needs more time to sort through the evidence before filing it with the court. The Japan FTC conducted raids at Intel's Japan offices, as well as its customers' offices, in spring 2004.

The Japanese antitrust agency may need another two to three weeks to submit the evidence, as ordered by the court in a December hearing, according to the source. Intel had sought to block the release of those documents at the hearing, which archrival Advanced Micro Devices is hoping to use in its civil antitrust lawsuits against the chip giant in U.S. and Japanese courts.